The Social Security Administration announced in December that a strategy known as "file and suspend" would no longer be available after April 30. Couples already using this claiming option will not be affected.

Advisors have been contacting clients to help them figure out what to do. "There could be a $100,000 differential for some clients between using the strategy that is being eliminated and not using it," Peter Doyle, senior advisor with Huber Financial Advisors in Lincolnshire, Illinois told FA Magazine.

"There is no good reason that in today's environment why a best interest standard shouldn't apply across all products and all activities," he said.

"There is no reason why there shouldn't be more demanding requirements from the standpoint of how firms manage their conflicts, particularly with regard to difficult ones involving compensation and how they compress differences in compensation between different products."

Back in 2005, the Financial Planning Association sued the SEC because the so-called "Merrill Lynch" rule allowed brokers to accept fees for their investment advice without requiring them to adhere to a fiduciary standard. DC Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland, who President Obama nominated to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, cast the sole dissenting vote in a 2-1 decision, reports Christine Idzelis.

"Mr. Garland's dissent was not a view on whether brokers should be considered fiduciaries, but whether the SEC had the authority to make the ruling," writes Idzelis. "He thought the SEC did have that authority."

The Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee left its benchmark rate unchanged at the conclusion of its two day meeting on Wednesday, adding that it now expects to raise rates only two times this year, down from its previous projection of four.

"The Federal Reserve meetings are much less eventful these days as policymakers generally give investors plenty of signals ahead of time what their plans are. [Wednesday's] was no different, but it did remind us that the Fed continues to be a bit more hawkish than the market, but the result of this meeting appeared to be more dovish than the market was expecting," writes Brad Sorensen.

"[G]iven the disconnect with the market, and the divergent global central bank policies, financial market volatility is likely to continue," he added.

LPL Financial announced it would cut prices and account minimums and roll out a fund-only brokerage IRA option ahead of the DOL's fiduciary rule that is expected to be released over the next few weeks, reports Janet Levaux.

"While we continue to advocate for a thoughtful resolution to the fiduciary issue — one that preserves investor choice — LPL recognizes that the DOL rule will have implications for financial advisors and investors," LPL President Dan Arnold said in a statement.